Fabio Vieira has confirmed he’s eligible to represent Porto at the upcoming Club World Cup as part of his loan agreement with Arsenal.
The midfielder rejoined his former club last summer in a bid to regain the form that earned him a big-money move to Arsenal. He’s been a regular at the Estadio do Dragao, featuring 39 times across four competitions, scoring five goals and making five assists.
While his long-term future is unclear – it seems hard to believe he’ll be reintegrated into Mikel Arteta’s squad – his short-term focus is firmly on representing his boyhood club on the global stage.
Porto have been drawn against Palmeiras, Al Ahly and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
In an interview with DAZN (relayed by the Porto official website) Vieira said: “I knew from the beginning that I would play in the Club World Cup with FC Porto and it is another opportunity for me and my teammates, of course.
“We want to show what FC Porto and our country are all about, because we will also be representing it.
“We want to go as far as possible, because every competition we enter is about winning. This one will be no exception. We see this competition as an opportunity for all of us and we want to leave a good impression.”
He added: “There are three teams from three different continents, so it will be different, so to speak, because these are teams we are not used to competing against.
“They have their own cultures, their own styles of play, so it will be fun and competitive. Each game will have its own story.”
As for his individual objectives, Vieira said: “I want to end this season well and recover from those two difficult years of my career at Arsenal, with a lot of injuries.
“I came here to regain that confidence and to get playing time. This Club World Cup is an opportunity to end the season well.”
If Porto do well in the States this summer, Vieira is likely to miss the start of the Gunners’ pre-season preparations.
Given he’s contractually allowed to play past the standard 30 June deadline for year-long loans, you have to assume we’re fine with that.